A harvester unloads harvested wheat onto a truck. File photoANKARA, Jul 23After the conclusion of the food deal, a food coordination center began to work in Istanbul, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said. «Representatives from Russia, Ukraine and the UN, as well as Turkey began to work in joint coordinating centre,» he said.
A European expert called the food deal a lesson for the US and the EU On Friday, Russia and Ukraine signed agreements with Turkey and UN, removing restrictions on the supply of Russian agricultural products to the world market and determining the procedure for transporting Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. According to the document, the crop will be exported from three ports — Odessa, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny — along safe corridors. Vessels will be searched for armaments, warships and aircraft will not be able to approach them without permission. The joint coordinating center will take the whole process under control. The UN has repeatedly warned about the threat of a food crisis due to a shortage of cereals, Western countries have accused Russia of blockade of the Black Sea ports. Moscow categorically rejects this and points out that Kyiv itself created numerous obstacles to exports: in addition to setting fire to grain in the Mariupol port, the Ukrainian military mined the Black Sea. Vladimir Putin, in turn, emphasized that Russia does not prevent the export of food if Ukraine clears mines ports, ships with food will be able to leave from there without problems.
